Friday, November 29, 2013

Paul Calandra attacks Glenn Greenwald and CBC

I think Calandra read off his bit of paper from Steve rather well today, don't you? Love the bit about how :

"CBC only admitted to their cash-for-news scheme after The Wall Street Journal forced it out of them"

... by cleverly reading Greenwald's byline alongside those of Greg Weston and Ryan Gallagher at the top of the CBC article.A byline that has also graced the pages of The Guardian and the New York Times, where, presumably, Greenwald also got paid as a journalist.And I'm sure the actual subject matter of the CBC article :

Mr. Speaker, the CBC’s Journalistic Standards and Practices make clear that and I quote :

To ensure we maintain our independence, we do not pay for information from a source in a story.

When CBC’s The National aired a report about U.S. activities during the G8 and G20, neither Peter Mansbridge nor Greg Weston disclosed that they had paid their source, Glenn Greenwald. Greenwald is a Brazilian based former porn industry executive, now assisting Edward Snowden leak national security information.

CBC only admitted to their cash for news scheme after The Wall Street Journal forced it out of them. CBC is trying to justify the violation of their own ethical standards by claiming that Greenwald is a *freelancer*.

Mr. Speaker Greenwald has strong and controversial opinions about national security and of course, that's his right, but when CBC pays for news, we have to ask why furthering Glenn Greenwald’s agenda and lining his Brazilian bank account more important than maintaining the public broadcaster’s journalistic integrity?

8 comments:

.. without having viewed the clip from Question Period, I don't know if the Elected MP base stood, clapped rapturously, shook their fists angrily or nodded their heads in grim satisfaction after Calandra finished reading such a lucicrous prepared response. Thus wacko club just compounds the visibility of their ignorance.

Aiders and Abettors .. That's the goal line for this distorted political machine and the equally disturbed political party and cling ons. They are fatally bent, have been captured by corporations and foreign interest and believe whatever smug entitled dogma is emitted from the prime minister's office.

Harper's choice of Calandra follows a long list of rude, deceitful and obnoxious Conservative Government representatives. Baird, Poilieve, del Mastro and others are and were pathetic responders to the opposition questions. Calandra has degraded Question Period to an even lower level of debate.

UnF'ing believable that our parliament has degraded to such low levels. As Montreal Simon points out how can the opposition function when shit spews forth from the parliamentary secretaries mouth when asked a perfectly normal question?

ie:

In response to an NDP question about Nigel Wright:

"I do like flowers and, of course, with lemons I like to make lemonade. My two daughters, this summer, actually had a lemonade stand where they sold lemonade for 5¢ on the street. They did very well. I am very proud of them."

In response to a Liberal question about the Wright-Duffy deal:

"She is sitting in a caucus where, I do not know, three-quarters of them have been convicted of some type of fraud, whether it is the Elections Canada Act or robocalls. The real fraud squad is sitting in the Liberal Party."

Which as you can see, makes the job of the opposition almost impossible. For what good is asking questions when you are going to get those kind of answers? - Montreal Simon at:

Mogs, the Cons were always completely crap in QP - always - so running out the clock was their best shot at beating it. Now with scandal nipping at their heels, they're just blowing it up like angry children who've been caught out so no one else can use it either. Calandra just a joke now. Speaker Scheer not entirely up to his role as the supervising adult here, is he?

Salamander : The QP shot was close in so you couldn't tell much about attending MPs. Breitkreuz behind and Lukiwski beside tut-tutted and desk-pounded on cue though.